Auto Insurance Claims: Diminished Value, city police officer, diminished value

Question
My wife was involved in an auto accident with a city police officer back in 2003.  No disputes in liability and I was reimbursed the deductible amounts but we could never agree to a settlement so to protect the statute of limitations we had to file suit.  Now, they want to resolve for a portion of the rental only and that is it, no diminished value or inconvenience for what this accident had caused.  My wife was 9 months pregnant at the time and went to ER for safety purposes and all was clear.  Normal soreness kicked in for your typical soft tissue.  Over 10K in damages including replacement of left frame rail and truck pan replaced.  Vehicle was a 2001 and the accident occurred in 2003 and I tried to sell it afterwards and was offered 5-7K less due to clamp marks on frame rails and etc, obvious indications of an accident.  The vehicle went back to the shop numerous times but the fact is the vehicle is not worth the same.  Now the city wants to go to court and settle only for 29 days of rental and they conceded to only splitting the difference of the 42 days it took to get it repaired.  Sorry to be long winded but I am just frustrated and waiting for some actual case law or a class action one day, if we can get past the lobbies, to put these issues to rest and start having these insurance companies pay up or make us, the victims, whole again.  Any recommendations on materials I can use or is this a waste of time to go to court on the cities time.  I am being advised that they offer this as an opportunity to mitigate prior to trial.  Thanks for your direction on this matter in advance.

Answer
Hi Tim,

You are entitle to be made whole. That means the entire rental bill unless they can prove that the shop unnecessarily delayed the repairs. It also means that if the repairs to the vehicle did not restore it's value, you are entitled to be compensated for the loss of value of your car.

The city's attempts to settle are simply a way for them to save money. They hope that you would rather get something eather than risk getting nothing in court. In order to get them to take you more seriously you will need to have a professional independent appraisal of your car's diminished value. That means it can not be a car dealer (they are considered to be biased). You should visit www.collisionclaims.com for more information on diminished value. Their toll free number is 1-866-438-6938.

I hope this helps
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Richard Hixenbaugh